Wednesday, December 26, 2012

21st Century Goliath-Radio Destroyer

Self-Release/Independent
2012

Lately I've had several people ask not only where all of these promos come from, but how it is that we manage to cover so much ground (punk to black metal) and offer such a "unique" variety of music (or as one person put it "Man, you cover some weird shit Andy"). I'll let you in on a little secret. Not only do I get promo material from the usual sources (record labels, industry contacts, sending requests to bands themselves, etc), but I also subscribe to about every online music site you can think of. I'm always on the lookout for new music to cover (especially from underground, indie or unsigned acts) and welcome any/all suggestions. Now, as I like to give credit where credit is due I must say that this review: http://www.sleazeroxx.com/bands/21stcenturygoliath/radiodestroyer.shtml turned me onto 21st Century Goliath. In fact, after I read this review I went to iTunes to download the album for myself! Up front I'll tell you that CD copies are all sold out so if your interest is peaked by either the above review by "Skid" or my review then you'll want to head over to either cdbaby or iTunes for your own copy. So, you might be asking why you should check out this5-piece? Well, the answer is simple enough. If you like real (as in GENUINE), dive-bar playing/cheap-beer drinking, hard rock/metal music then21st Century Goliath is a band you need to familiarize yourself with. The band's reverbnation page lists AC/DC, Guns N' Roses, Metallica, Motley Crue and Iron Maiden as influences, but that last one (Iron Maiden) takes the night of on "Radio Destroyer". In Iron Maiden's place (and in addition to AC/DC, Guns N' Roses, Metallica, Motley Crue) you've got some riffs born out of a life spent listening to Motorhead, Circus Of Power and Zodiac Mindwarp LPs. Mention should be made of the fact that the Metallica influence seems to be more of a reference to Tony Leone's voice then anything else. There is a hell of a lot of James Hetfield in his voice although he also sounds a bit like Michael Poulsen (Volbeat) at times. You could argue that the music these North Carolina boys are unleashing is similar in nature to "Load"/"Reload" Metallica, but I'd have to slap you for making such an argument and tell you never to bring up those albums again! With only 9 songs (and given that this album is only 35 minutes or so in length) it's a bit too short for my taste. Otherwise it's everything that's great about your local hard rock/metal band, but with the added benefit of a good producer and catchy song-writing. This is definitely a young band to keep an eye on!

"So, in closing, fuck you METAL MARK. Fuck you, fuck Lynch Mob, and fuck your shitty website!”
“I don't know who this METAL MARK is, but I know better than to waste my time checking out anything else written by this asshole”
-Mike